Hispanic Heroes of the DCU

Cinco De Mayo is here again and in honor of Mexican independence day I thought a list of some famous Hispanic Super Heroes from the DC Universe and their first appearances was in order. The first that comes to mind is the current Blue Beetle Jaime Reyes. Just last week DC published and all Spanish issue of “Blue Beetle”. This was the first time in recent memory I have seen an all Spanish issue, with English subtitles, from any major comic company. For a great interview with Hispanic American comic artist of “Blue Beetle” click on this link: http://blog.newsarama.com/about?p=7678

Jaime Reyes first appearance was in “Infinite Crisis” #3, DC 2006, and his first appearance as Blue Beetle was in “Infinite Crisis” #5, DC 2006. Both issues guide for $4.00 in Near Mint condition. For a complete Bio on Jaime check out this link : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Beetle_%28Jaime_Reyes%29

One of my favorite Batman Villains is also Hispanic. Bane first appeared in “Batman: Vengeance of Bane”, DC 2003, and would later go on to break Batman’s back during the Knightfall storyline of that same year. The first appearance of Bane guides for $12.00 in Near Mint condition. If your only exposure to Bane was from the 1997 Joel Schumacher “Batman and Robin” film I urge you to check out both the Vengance of Bane and Knightfall storylines as the movie version had little or nothing to do with source material. For a complete bio on Bane check out this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bane_%28comics%29

Final Crisis writer Grant Morrison wrote the story of my favorite Hispanic Superhero in his short lived and underrated series “Aztek: The Ultimate Man”. Aztek was a member of the Justice League of America, during Morrison’s run as writer and gave his life to save the team after finding out that his history was fabricated by Lex Luthor who used Aztek’s armor to spy on the League. Aztek’s first appearance was in “Aztek: the Ultimate Man” #1, DC 1996, which guides for $6.00 in Near Mint condition. For a complete bio on Aztek check out this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aztek_%28comics%29

Kyle Rayner is perhaps one of the most controversial Hispanic heroes in the DC U, not because of his racial background but because in 1994 he replaced beloved Silver Age character Hal Jordan as Green Lantern. Hal has since returned from the dead and retaken his job as Earth’s Green Lantern while Rayner has moved to OA, home planet of the Guardians who are the ruling body behind the GL Corps, and can be seen monthly in the pages of “Green Lantern Corps” Rayner’s mother was Mexican and his father Irish. Rayner’s first appearance was in Green Lantern v3 #48, DC 1994 which guides for $6.00 in Near Mint condition. Rayner’s first appearance as Green Lantern was in “Green Lantern #51, DC 1994 which also guides for $6.00 in Near Mint condition. For a complete bio on Kyle Rayner check out this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Rayner

Keep in mid this is a very short list of the more popular Hispanic characters in the DC Universe, the complete list is surprisingly long. Later this week we’ll take a look at some famous Hispanic heroes from the Marvel Universe.

Again I have to stress that this was just a list of some of the Active Hispanic heroes in the DCU. Didn’t Vibe get killed by one of professor Ivo’s androids years ago? The JLA Detroit’s spirit? Palmer, You’re an even bigger DC nerd than I am and that’s saying something. Nice call on Vibe though, even if his costume was terrible.